Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) lies on the turf after a roughing the passer penalty on Denver Broncos free safety Darian Stewart (26) during the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016, in Denver.
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“Key players in crunch time rarely ever get removed for an evaluation, probably because the ATC spotter doesn’t want to be blamed for creating a competitive disadvantage if, for example, Cam Newton had been unavailable to the Panthers for the final drive if, as it turns out, Newton didn’t have a concussion”. As Newton released the ball and was going down, Stewart hit him in the head with the crown of his helmet. I don’t think there’s a racial component here, just an unintentional thought that Newton can take the hits because of his physicality. It’s kind of like what happened to Shaquille O’Neal. He’s roughly the same size, if not bigger, than a few of the men tackling him and I really think that’s a factor in some of these “judgement” calls. He goes to shoot a little layup and he gets hacked and hammered and they don’t call it.
Rivera, who played linebacker for nine seasons with the Chicago Bears, said he experienced some of that prejudice playing high school basketball.
“The hit that was helmet-to-helmet, the offsetting penalties, that one is what we’re going to discuss next week with this panel because it seems to me a helmet-to-helmet should override any other penalty”, Mariucci said on NFL GameDay Morning.
“I try to warn the refs every time I do get hit in the head”.
“I’m perfectly calm in those situations”. “He’s an imposing figure and sometimes those don’t look as bad on a big guy”.
That’s far softer than Newton’s criticism last September of referee Ed Hochuli, whom Newton accused of saying the now 27-year-old quarterback is “not old enough to get that call” for roughing the passer after a hit.
Newton is expected to practice when the Panthers return to the field on Wednesday, the coach said.
Now, the National Football League is looking into how well that protocol was followed.
“If anything happens in the game that looks questionable, our doctors and the independent (doctor) come together and look at it immediately on instant replay”, Rivera said.
“We played awful in the first half”, Chris Harris said after the game.
So from that standpoint, the protocol was followed.
Asked after the game if he felt he received fair and adequate protection from referee Gene Steratore and his crew, Newton said: “It’s not my job to question the officials”.
Can you imagine Tom Brady or Drew Brees taking four helmet-to-helmet hits – including two where the defender appeared to leave his feet and launch himself into Newton – with only a single flag being dropped? While he didn’t wanna say it was race related, he did mention it quite a few times while speaking with ESPN. “Don’t question my integrity when it comes to those things, OK?” It is not up to me to make those decisions and those calls.
There is protocol and “I do what the doctors tell me”. It claims it wants to eliminate risky helmet-to-helmet hits.
Because for all of the opinions about Newton and his brash style of play, the league is better with him on the field.
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The deal is the perception that Newton should take more punishment than most quarterbacks.
